The Public Security Council meeting devoted to timber industry problems was coordinated in Yekaterinburg. It was detected in the course of the meeting that despite the measures taken, the region keeps exporting increasingly more wood pulp with very little processing. In 2006, for instance, the regional customs noted that about 80% of all the timber was exported in the form of rough wood and converted timber.

Last year, over 88% of wood export consisted of edged boards and logs, that is, products that undergo little processing.

In the course of a meeting, a report was made by the Council’s secretary Alexander Kudryavtsev, who said that no suits related to forest management offenses were placed with the region’s courts in 2006-2007. At the same time, illegal logging is definitely on the rise due to a dramatic increase in the number of gangsaws and other bits of machinery.

It has by now become obvious that anti-poaching raids per se cannot destroy the illegal logging practices. Improvements can only be brought about by the introduction of a single quick data processing system that will cover every stage of timber processing from the wood-cutting area to the customs terminals.

Governor Eduard Rossel said that Finland and Sverdlovsk Region had approximately the same amount of timber to work on, yet the former was processing about 50 million cubic meters of wood a year, while the latter was doing ten times less. The Governor added it was essential to stop illegal logging and focus on deeper wood processing.